Is It All Just Black and White?
by Amberwing of FireClan
Summary: Now that Rosa is thirteen, it's time for her to leave on her Pokemon journey throughout the Unova region. But things aren't all as they seem. A sinister organization is pulling the strings, and the legendary Pokemon are dormant, waiting for their "chosen ones." Rosa must ask herself the question; is everything only black and white? A Pokemon Black & White novelization.
1. Chapter One: New Dawn

**A/N: Hi there! Before we start, there's something I'd like to say. This fanfiction is heavily inspired by the story "The Two Constants" by the user QuoteMyFoot. It is a Pokemon X and Y novelization, so if you're interested in this, you will definitely like that story. It is more... mature, for lack of a better word, than this story will be, so be warned about that. But anyway, back to this story!**

* * *

Chapter One

New Dawn

It was a bright, sunny day in Nuvema Town. A young, thirteen year old girl with short, dark brown hair in a pixie cut paced around her room, waiting. She had on some clothes fit for traveling; a blue T-shirt as well as black shorts what went down to her knees. Her gray glasses looked good with any outfit and brought out her blue eyes. She looked through the bag that had her essentials in it for what seemed like the dozenth time that morning, before starting to pace once more. The TV in one corner reflected her impatient face, as well as the computer propped up in another corner.

 _What's taking them so long?_ she thought.

The girl- Rosa- sighed and turned to the blue box left for her that morning. Now that she and her friends were thirteen, it was time for them to go on their Pokemon journeys. They were originally going to leave at ten years old, just like everyone else, but they agreed to wait until they became teenagers. That way, they'd be ready pretty much no matter what. That box held the Pokemon they could choose from to start their journey.

Finally sitting on her bed, she grabbed her Xtransceiver and texted her friends. _Where are you right now?_

After a moment, she got a response from her friend, Cheren. _Almost ready,_ he had typed, _just making sure I have everything._

The girl rolled her eyes and typed back. _Didn't you do that last night? At_ 2 AM? _When you said you couldn't sleep? And also earlier that night at 10 PM?_

The Xtransceiver beeped quickly after that, with Cheren's response being, _You can never be too prepared! Anyways, I'm almost done. I'll be heading there shortly._

Afterwards, a text from her other friend, Bianca, popped up. _Sorry, Daddy tried talking me out of going again. On my way._

Rosa sighed again. Everytime she and her friends tried to do something fun, if Cheren didn't point out that they shouldn't do it, Bianca's dad did. At least Cheren always used reasoning to talk them out of it; Bianca's dad refused to even let them get _close_ to Route 1! And Rosa's house was pretty much right in front of it! So basically anything behind her house was "off limits" unless it was Professor Juniper's lab. _At least Bianca's mom can talk her crazy husband out of stuff,_ Rosa thought bitterly.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and she ran downstairs to get it, but saw that her mother already had. She saw Cheren and Bianca standing there. Bianca's blonde hair was poofier than normal, while Cheren's slick black hair looked more carefully brushed than it was when he… well, when he did anything. They were wearing their typical clothes; Cheren in his normal white shirt and blue jacket with his black glasses propped meticulously onto the bridge of his nose, and Bianca in her white and orange shirt with her big green hat and matching purse.

Cheren was saying something to Rosa's mom while Bianca saw Rosa and waved excitedly. Rosa waved back. Finally, Rosa's mom stepped back and Cheren and Bianca walked over to the stairs where Rosa was waiting.

Bianca practically hopped over to Rosa, beaming happily. "Are they here?" she asked, seemingly too excited for a proper introduction.

Cheren, on the other hand, greeted Rosa with a wave and a "Hi. You ready?"

Rosa nodded to both of them. "Come on! The box is upstairs." Rosa ran back up the stairs and was quickly followed by her friends. They got to the box and stared at it for a minute before Cheren took the note on top of the box and read it out loud.

" _Dear Cheren, Bianca, and Rosa, it's good to see that you're starting on your journey. Inside this box are three Pokeballs, each containing a unique starter Pokemon you won't be able to get anywhere else, as well as some other surprises. Nametags are attached to the Pokeballs, so you'll know which ones they are. Please don't fight over them! Sincerely, Professor Juniper._ "

Bianca jumped up and down. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, come on, let's open the box!"

Rosa reached to open up the box before a thought occurred to her. "Wait," she pointed out, "who's going to pick first?"

"Well, since it was delivered to your house, we thought it would be a good idea for you to pick first," Bianca replied. "Now come on! Please open it!"

Rosa kind of wanted to double check with her friends if they were okay with that, but Bianca was insistent and even Cheren looked impatient, casually tapping his fingers against the wall. So instead she opened the box and looked inside.

There were three Pokeballs, labeled _Snivy_ , _Tepig,_ and _Oshawott_ respectively. There were also three mysterious pouches. "What about these?" Rosa asked.

"We'll open those after," Cheren decided. "Those are probably the 'other surprises' the Professor told us about."

"Alright," Rosa said, turning back to the box. She already knew the one she wanted. She picked up the Pokeball labeled _Oshawott_ and opened it. After a bright flash of light, a bipedal blue and white otter-like creature popped out. It had a cream-colored scalchop on its chest, and it looked curious and happy.

"Come on, buddy," she cajoled, "you wanna be my partner?"

The Oshawott looked up at Rosa before walking up to her with a chitter. He climbed into her outstretched arms before crawling onto her shoulder and staying there.

"Aww, Ro, I think he likes you!" Bianca cooed. "My turn!" She scooped up the Pokeball labeled _Tepig_ and added, "Cheren, you can have that one."

"I didn't ask you to pick my starter for me," Cheren retorted sarcastically. "Well, it's the one I wanted, anyway." At this point, Rosa and Bianca had learned that whenever he made comments like that to them, he was usually joking around, or teasing them in a friendly way.

Cheren picked up the Pokeball labeled _Snivy_ and released his new Pokemon, along with Bianca. Tepig was an orange and brownish-black pig, while Snivy was a bipedal snake colored green and cream, and had a signature leaf-shaped tail.

Cheren's Snivy looked up at him almost arrogantly, but she eventually complied and walked over to Cheren. He reached out his hand to his new partner, and the Snivy, though reluctant, tapped Cheren's hand as if to say, You'll do.

Bianca's Tepig, on the other hand, was much more ecstatic. He was running around all over the place, snorting with glee. Bianca laughed and opened up her arms, hugging her Tepig when he ran into her.

"We should name our Pokemon!" Bianca suggested. "I'll call this little guy… Embie!"

Cheren's Snivy had climbed onto his shoulder, and seemed to be slowly warming up to him. He gently scratched under her chin, and she made a sort of trilling noise. "I'll name her Ivy," Cheren decided.

Rosa's Oshawott was trying to climb on top of her head. She let him and laughed as he tried to get in a position comfortable enough to sit there. Suddenly, he stumbled and Rosa grabbed him before he could fall. She brought him down to eye level, where he chittered happily. "I'm thinking…" Hmm. She didn't really know. Suddenly, an idea popped in her head. "Haru."

The Oshawott seemed to agree, making more chattering noises. He climbed back onto her head, this time in a more stable position.

"Let's see what those pouches are," Cheren said. Taking one of them, he opened it up and gaped at whatever was inside.

Curious, Rosa grabbed the other two pouches, handed one to Bianca, and opened up her own. " _No way!_ " she gasped.

Inside was her own Pokedex and some Pokeballs!

"Wow!" Bianca squealed, obviously floored as well.

"My own Pokedex," Cheren murmured, already off in his dreamland.

Rosa pulled it out and looked at it. It felt sleek and modern in her hand, like something imported from Castelia City. It looked cool too; it was mostly black with a pink Pokeball pattern on the bottom. Bianca's looked similar, while Cheren's had a blue Pokeball instead.

All three of them just stood there, realizing that this Pokedex they had truly meant that they were official Pokemon trainers. Rosa couldn't control the feeling of excitement and joy at the prospect of _owning a Pokedex_ and _exploring the Unova region._ It was almost too much to take in.

Haru patted the side of Rose's head, pulling her from her thoughts. He made another chittering sound, which seemed to be his way of communicating. This time, it seemed concerned from the tone alone.

"I'm fine," Rosa whispered to him, "just really shocked and excited."

Her friends seemed to be pulled out of their dream state, too, because suddenly, Bianca piped up, "Let's register our Pokemon in here!"

Cheren nodded and turned to scan Ivy. Rosa couldn't hear what the Pokedex said, but she scanned Haru.

" _Oshawott, the Sea Otter Pokemon,_ " the Pokedex said mechanically. " _It fights using the scalchop on its stomach, which is made from the same material as claws. In response to an attack, it detaches the scalchop for use as a blade. It is not only used in battle, but can be used to break open hard berries._ "

Suddenly, the Pokedex opened to another menu that showed Haru's moveset. He had Tackle and Tail Whip, according to the Pokedex. Rosa was in awe.

"Can I scan Haru?" Cheren asked Rosa, pulling her attention from the Pokedex screen.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Can I scan Ivy?"

Cheren nodded, and the two used their Pokedexes again.

" _Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokemon. It is very intelligent and calm. It photosynthesizes by bathing its tail in the sunlight, which also makes its movements swifter. When it is feeling unwell, its tail droops. It uses its vines more adeptly than its hands._ "

"Oh, intelligent and calm. Sounds like someone else I know," Rosa pointed out. Cheren chuckled.

"Oooh, can I scan your Pokemon, too?" Bianca asked.

"I don't mind," replied Rosa.

Cheren nodded and asked, "Can we scan your Tepig?"

"Yeah, sure!" Bianca replied.

Upon scanning Embie, the Pokedex told Rosa, " _Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokemon. It can deftly dodge its opponent's attacks while blowing fire through its nose. It roasts berries before it eats them, but sometimes it gets too excited and burns them to a crisp. When it gets a cold, it produces pitch-black smoke instead of fire._ "

"Better not let it get a cold, Bianca, or fire alarms will be going off all the time!" Cheren teased.

Bianca laughed, and so did Rosa. Suddenly, Bianca perked up. "I have an idea! How about we try out our new Pokemon in a battle?"

"I'm not sure," Cheren protested, "really just because we're indoors. If we did it outside…"

"But Cheren, they're so little! They can't do that much damage." Bianca pointed out.

"Just because they're little doesn't mean they're not powerful. Have you ever heard the tales of Celebi? Or Jirachi? Victini? Any of those ring a bell?"

"That's different, though! They're mythical Pokemon who have control over time and space! These Pokemon can't exactly be that powerful."

Cheren sighed, then turned to Rosa. "What say you? This is your room that might get destroyed, after all. It should be up to you."

Rosa didn't know herself. Both of them had brought up really good points. But they didn't exactly have anywhere they could battle without causing a scene…

"If we go outside, we'll attract way too much attention," Rosa mused, "so if we're careful, we might be able to do it in here."

Cheren threw his hands up in submission, startling Ivy. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Me first! Me first!" Bianca squealed. "Ro, what do you say you versus me?"

"Sure!" Rosa agreed. "Ready, Haru?"

Haru nodded, making another chittering sound. Embie snorted in response, getting ready for the battle. Haru leapt down as the two Pokemon faced each other.

Cheren moved off to the side, closer to the TV. "I'll be your referee."

Rosa and Bianca stood on opposite ends of the carpet, facing each other. "We're ready!" Bianca exclaimed, gripping her Pokedex tightly.

"Alright," Cheren said. After waiting a moment, Cheren called out, "Begin!"

Looking at her Pokedex, Rosa found two moves that could be used; Tackle and Tail Whip. "Haru, use Tackle!" she exclaimed.

Haru nodded and started speeding towards Embie. Bianca called out, "Embie, Tackle him back!"

Embie launched forward and collided with Haru. They both fell to the ground before getting back up again.

"Haru, keep trying to Tackle Embie!"

Haru nodded and ran towards Embie again. This time, the Tepig tried to dodge and dash around, but Haru kept following him. Eventually, they got a little too close to the TV. Rosa didn't notice as the TV toppled over and Cheren narrowly saved it from hitting the floor. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she watch the fight unfold.

"Embie, you have to fight back!" Bianca ordered.

Embie turned around and leapt at Haru.

"Use your scalchop as a shield!" Rosa called out.

Haru obeyed, removing the scalchop from his belly and putting it in front of him. Embie squealed, but was going too fast to stop and rammed right into Haru. Haru dug his heels into the carpet, and Rosa didn't really notice that the carpet was moving with them.

Finally, Haru fell backwards, and so did Embie. Haru got up, still ready for battle, but Embie was having more difficulty.

"Alright, that's enough," Cheren interrupted. He pulled some Potions out of his bag and sprayed them onto the Pokemon.

"Cheren, do you want to battle?" Bianca asked.

Cheren looked up at her. "I don't know if you noticed, Bianca, but the TV toppled over and I was barely able to catch it!"

"Wait, really?" Rosa asked.

"Yes. And do you not notice the carpet?"

Rosa looked down and saw that it was lopsided and partially turned over. "Oh. No, I didn't."

Cheren sighed and stood up, now that Haru and Embie were fully healed. "Well, unless we do actually knock over the TV, there isn't much damage that can be done in the first place. So I suppose a battle would be alright." He turned to Rosa. "Are you okay with fighting again?"

"Yeah, sure!" Rosa replied. "Then you and Bianca can battle."

Cheren and Bianca switched places, and Ivy, who was arranged like a scarf around Cheren's neck, had to be stirred for the battle. She slid down Cheren's arm before leaping onto the battlefield, where she met an eager Haru.

"Alright, ready for the battle?" Bianca squealed, obviously excited to view the battle.

Rosa turned to Cheren. "Ready when you are!"

Cheren nodded and pulled out his Pokedex.

"Alright… go!" Bianca cheered.

Rosa opened her mouth for a command, but Cheren called out quickly, "Ivy, use Tackle!"

The Snivy let out a cry before charging forward towards Haru.

"Haru, use your scalchop as a shield again!"

Haru removed the scalchop from his belly as Ivy ran. Suddenly, right as she got close, she maneuvered around and slammed Haru in the back.

"Nice shot!" Cheren cheered.

Rosa knew that this battle would be harder than the one with Bianca. Suddenly, she got an idea in her head. "Haru, hold your ground!"

Haru nodded as Ivy darted away, waiting for her next order.

They stood there in silence for a moment before Cheren said, "If you won't make a move, I will. Ivy, Tackle again!"

Ivy obeyed, charging Haru once more.

"Haru, shield!"

Haru looked confused, but did as he was told.

Cheren looked confused as well, but didn't stop Ivy from charging. Then, right before Ivy was about to use her move again, Rosa called out, "Jump!"

Haru leapt into the air just as Ivy tried swerving around him again. Ivy nearly fell, and just as she steadied herself, Haru landed right on top of her.

Ivy groaned from underneath Haru and tried getting up, but Haru was just too heavy.

Then, just as Rosa thought she had won, Ivy shot out from under Haru, toppling him over. Cheren screamed, "Use Tackle!" and Ivy crashed into Haru.

"Haru! You okay?"

Haru chittered, but seemed to be out of commision for the battle.

"And that's that!" Bianca cheered. "Cheren wins!"

Cheren pulled out his Potions brought Haru and Ivy back to full health. "Oh, by the way," Cheren added, "In other Pokemon battles, they won't just fight until your Pokemon are tired. They'll keep going until the Pokemon on either side faint. So keep that in mind."

Rosa nodded, and Bianca exclaimed, "Hey, Cheren, wanna battle with me?"

Cheren sighed. "I suppose that it's only fair if everyone gets a turn fighting everyone. Sure, why not? Just don't destroy the place."

Rosa changed places with Bianca and watched as Embie jumped back onto the carpet, snorting excitedly.

"Ready?" Rosa called out. When Bianca and Cheren nodded, she continued, "Begin!"

Bianca started the battle this time, crying out, "Embie, use Tackle!"

Embie charged forward recklessly as Cheren countered, "Ivy, use Tail Whip!"

Ivy turned around and wagged her tail at a high speed. Not only, Rosa knew, did it lower Embie's defense stats, but would probably hit him in the face.

Right as she thought that, Embie was almost ready to ram into Ivy when he got smacked, running over to the side and slamming into the bookshelf beside Rosa's bed.

Rosa facepalmed, but couldn't help but laugh as books fell on Embie's head. When the pile stopped flowing, only Embie's twitching snout was poking out, which quickly expanded to his head as he knocked over the book on top. Even Cheren and Bianca were laughing, and Ivy had a triumphant smirk on her face that amused the trio even more. Haru, on the other hand, was more concerned for his friend and went over to make sure Embie wasn't seriously hurt before returning to his spot on Rosa's head.

"Sorry," Rosa apologized, still trying not to laugh, "but that was too funny! I wish we were recording that."

"Aww, we could have posted it on StaryuTube!" Bianca whined.

The trio laughed more at that statement, and even Embie was laughing it off (or, at least, the snorting that seemed like laughing) before climbing out of the pile.

"Alright," Cheren said between his laughter, "let's finish the battle."

Embie went back up, though somewhat woozy, to the carpet where he was going to fight Ivy.

"Let's finish this!" Bianca exclaimed. "Embie, Tackle!"

"Ivy, use Tackle, too!" Cheren ordered.

Both Pokemon obeyed, rushing forward towards each other. Ivy pulled the move she used on Haru, and Tackled Embie from behind. Embie fell forward and crashed into the carpet, slipping on it and messing it up even more. He sort of laid there with a groan, not wanting to get up.

"I think Cheren won that one!" Rosa declared.

Bianca and Cheren nodded in agreement as Cheren went over with his Potions to heal the Pokemon.

"That was awesome!" Bianca squealed, not seeming to be bothered that she lost both of her battles.

"I kind of liked that," Cheren admitted as he sprayed a couple of Potions on Embie. "It gave me this adrenaline rush, like I could feel Ivy's energy in me. I see why you too were so caught up in it that you failed to notice that you knocked over the TV."

"Wow, Cheren, maybe you should become a poet," Rosa teased.

Cheren laughed before saying, "Maybe. I'll think about it."

With that, the trio fixed the carpet, put all the books back (in the same order, Rosa and Cheren had insisted), and headed downstairs to leave on their journeys.

Rosa's mom had insisted to send them off with things to make food with in case they were ever stuck camping. They received some ham, some bread, and some Pokemon crackers, which were just graham crackers in the shapes of different Pokemon.

"Bye, you three!" Rosa's mom called out as they left. "Bye, Rosa! Love you!"

"Love you too!" Rosa called, blowing her mom a final kiss. "I'll call you every other day or so!"

"Sounds good!" Rosa's mom replied. She waved goodbye before making her way down to the entrance to Route 1, where her friends were already waiting. "Wow, you're fast!" Rosa exclaimed.

"Sorry," Bianca said, "we're just too excited!"

"More accurately," Cheren countered, " _you_ were running as if a Bouffalant herd was after you and _I_ was trying to catch up."

"Let's put aside the specifics," Rosa responded. "Let's start our adventure!"

The three smiled and stepped onto Route 1; together, just like they had been practically since birth.

* * *

Current Team:

Haru- Oshawott (M)

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the really long chapter. In Google Docs, this thing is over eight pages… oof. Anyways, I'd like to know how you thought the battles went, since this is my first Pokemon fanfiction in… well, besides the Mystery Dungeon one I'm working on outside of here, this is my first Pokemon fanfiction in years. So yeah, I'm a bit rusty.**


	2. Chapter Two: Plasma

Chapter Two

Plasma

As the trio stepped onto Route 1, Rosa felt giddy with excitement. She was finally going on her Pokemon quest!

Suddenly Cheren glanced over at her. "Hey, Rosa, you know you still have Haru on your head, right?"

Haru chittered in response, sitting on Rosa's head like Cheren said he was. "Oh, right," Rosa replied. Then she saw Ivy, curled up around Cheren's neck as if she was his scarf. "Are you aware that Ivy is still pretending to be your scarf?"

Cheren glanced down and chuckled. "No, I wasn't." He pulled out Ivy's Pokeball, and Ivy perked up upon seeing it. After a flash of red light, she disappeared into the Pokeball.

Rosa pulled out Haru's Pokeball to put him back as well, but he gave an angry chitter and lightly pulled her hair.

"I don't think he wants to go in there," Bianca pointed out. "Embie doesn't really want to, either."

"Is that true, Haru?" Rosa asked.

She could feel Haru nod vigorously in response.

"Alright, then," Rosa said. "You can stay up on my head for a while longer.

Haru gave a happy squeak and relaxed again. Rosa continued walking, not really minding the weight on her head.

As they were walking to Accumula Town on the grassy path, a purple and tan cat Pokemon crossed their path.

"What's that?" Bianca asked.

"You know, Bianca," Rosa responded sarcastically, "there's something called a Pokedex that would really help."

"Oh, right," Bianca replied.

Rosa pulled out her Pokedex out of the pouch on the side of her backpack and scanned the Pokemon, which was looking curiously in their direction.

" _Purrloin, the Devious Pokemon,_ " the Pokedex said. " _Its cute act is a ruse. When victims let down their guard, they find their items taken. This Pokemon steals from people for fun just to see the looks on their faces. However, their victims can't help but forgive them. It attacks with sharp claws._ "

"Oh, I can show you how to catch a Pokemon while we're out here," Cheren added.

"Do you even have Pokeballs?" Rosa asked.

"I do, in fact," Cheren replied. "But you need to prove your strength to the Pokemon before you can catch it."

"Prove your strength?" Bianca echoed.

"A Pokemon," Cheren explained in his "I thought you knew this" voice, "will only allow itself to be caught in a Pokeball if the trainer and its Pokemon have proven their strength in a battle. The Pokemon will then stay in the Pokeball, but if you haven't battled it or are not strong enough for it, it will, more likely than not, break out of the Pokeball."

"Oh," Bianca said, somewhat deflated. She probably felt bad for not knowing.

Cheren pulled out Ivy's Pokeball and threw it out. The Snivy popped out in a bright flash of light. She looked annoyed, probably from being dragged out of her drowsiness, but locked eyes with the Purrloin in front of her.

The Purrloin tipped his head in acknowledgement, as though agreeing to the challenge.

Cheren pulled out his Pokedex and brought up the screen that showed the moves Ivy had. He called out, "Ivy, use Tackle!"

Ivy obeyed, charging forward towards the Purrloin. Rosa expected the Purrloin to dodge, and was surprised when the cat Pokemon instead reared up and tried to deflect the attack with his claws. He hit Ivy on the side of the face, but the Snivy had bowled into the Purrloin in retaliation. Both Pokemon fell into the tall grass. The Purrloin got up, but Rosa couldn't see Ivy. Then she saw the grass moving slightly in a small patch, and a brighter green color poked out very slightly. _She's camouflaging,_ Rosa realized.

Cheren wasn't giving any orders, but had his eyes on the patch of rustling grass, which moved slowly towards the Purrloin, who had his back turned to Ivy. But just as Ivy was about to strike, the Purrloin angled his ears backwards. Then, without warning, he whipped around and struck the snake Pokemon, sending her flying out of the grass. Ivy screeched, less out of pain and more out of anger, it seemed, and landed carefully on the ground. The Purrloin burst out of the grass to strike Ivy again, but as he raised up on his hind legs to slash at Ivy, Cheren exclaimed, "Knock him off balance!"

Ivy crouched down and swiped her tail under her opponent's paws. The Purrloin fell and Ivy was right on top of him, bowling into the Pokemon and rolling into the trunk of a nearby tree. The Purrloin stood up again, but was shaky and looked at Ivy with an expression Rosa couldn't read.

"I think I'm okay to throw a Pokeball now," Cheren said, interrupting Rosa's thoughts. He pulled out a Pokeball from his bag and tossed it at the Purrloin.

In a flash of red light, the Pokemon disappeared into the Pokeball. It wiggled once, then twice, then thrice, and then there was a click sound.

"That click means I caught it!" Cheren explained, obviously trying to contain his excitement at catching a new Pokemon. He walked over and picked up the Pokeball, which now had his new Purrloin inside. "I'll have to think of something to call him."

"Hey," Bianca piped up randomly, "what if we have a contest?"

"What sort of contest?" Rosa asked.

"Well," explained Bianca, "why don't we all split up and try catching as many unique Pokemon as we can on this route! Then, we'll all regroup and compare. Whoever has the most Pokemon, including the one from Professor Juniper, wins!"

"That sounds fun," Rosa said, "but Cheren is the only one who has Pokeballs."

"Oh, that's no problem," Cheren pointed out. "I packed loads. I can give you guys some."

"Really?" Bianca replied.

"Yeah," Cheren said, "it's really no problem. I can give you both five to start, and if you need more to finish the contest, you can find me and I'll probably still have plenty."

"Thanks, Cheren!" Rosa responded.

Cheren handed them the Pokeballs and added, "We'll regroup at the entrance to Accumula Town at-" he glanced at the Xtransceiver on his wrist- "maybe eleven?"

Rosa looked at her Xtransceiver, too. It was ten forty-five in the morning right now. That would give them twenty-five minutes to look for Pokemon on this short Route. "I think that's good," she replied.

"Alrighty then," Bianca exclaimed, "move out!"

Rosa split off from her friends and wandered around the Route for a little bit, trying to find something. Then, Haru lightly tugged on her hair to get her attention.

"What?" Rosa asked. Haru pulled her hair to the right in response, causing her to turn. There, she saw a rat-like Pokemon that was mostly brown. It had piercing yellow and red eyes, and stood on its hind legs. "What's that?" Rosa wondered aloud, and pulled out her Pokedex.

" _Patrat, the Scout Pokemon. Using food stored in cheek pouches, they can watch for days. Extremely cautious, they take shifts to maintain a constant watch on their nest. They feel insecure without a lookout, but even they won't notice a foe coming from behind._ "

"So, they won't notice an opponent from behind," Rosa mused. "Haru, do you think you can get behind it and use a Tackle attack?"

Haru crawled down onto her shoulder and nodded before jumping off. Despite not being camouflaged by the grass like Ivy, he crept up behind the Patrat without alerting him.

 _I don't know if that means he's stealthy or this Patrat has horrible peripheral vision,_ Rosa thought.

Haru was almost at striking range now. He took another few steps, then lunged forward.

The Patrat opened his mouth to let out a warning screech, but Haru knocked him down and winded him before he could.

 _I've got to prove myself to him before he alerts the rest of the Patrat around here._ "Alright, Haru, use Tackle!"

The Patrat tried stumbling to his feet, but Haru rammed into him again, making him collapse. The rodent Pokemon looked up with a fire blazing in his eyes, but didn't try calling for help.

 _So he's interested enough to try taking us on, but not enough to be caught quite yet,_ Rosa thought. _Alright._

The Patrat Tackled Haru, toppling him over. The rat-like creature looked almost arrogant as he looked down on Haru. "That all you got?" he seemed to be saying.

Haru looked pretty angry as he got up.

"Haru, another Tackle!" Rosa exclaimed.

The otter Pokemon barreled into the Patrat with greater strength than he did before. The Patrat looked surprised as he fell. Haru stood over him with his stubby little arms on his sides. It looked more cute than it did intimidating, but Rosa appreciated the effort. The Patrat got up, but this time it was different than before. The fire was still in his eyes, but it seemed to have died down. His ears were flattened, and he stared at Rosa rather than Haru.

"Haru, stand down," Rosa ordered. She pulled one of her vacant Pokeballs from her bag, and Haru backed away begrudgingly. Rosa threw the Pokeball, and the Patrat disappeared inside in a bright flash of red light. The Pokeball shook once, then twice, and then thrice, until it clicked. The Patrat was caught.

Rosa picked up the Pokeball and held it in her hand for a moment. "What am I going to name you?" she thought aloud. Then she added, "You know, I should probably get you to a Pokemon Center first. But before that, time to see what other Pokemon this Route holds." Rosa looked at her Xtransceiver. Ten fifty. She had ten minutes to find some kind of other Pokemon. "Let's go, Haru!"

Haru chittered in agreement as he climbed back on top of Rosa's head. That seemed to be his "spot."

After walking a while, Rosa seemed to be finding a lot of Patrats. She knew there were other Pokemon on this Route- she wouldn't mind her own Purrloin- but she was having a bit of bad luck.

Okay, a _lot_ of bad luck.

Rosa looked at her Xtransceiver again. It was ten fifty-five, and her legs were starting to ache. _I should probably start heading for Accumula Town. If my luck improves, I might find another Pokemon on the way._

Her luck didn't improve.

By the time she got to the entrance to Accumula Town, it was almost eleven. Cheren was already there.

"Run out of Pokeballs?" he asked.

"No, I ran out of luck. All I kept finding were Patrats," Rosa corrected.

"I've been having the opposite problem," Cheren groaned. "Ivy is pretty strong, so she kept knocking out every Pokemon I encountered! She doesn't know how to back down from a fight, either. It's admirable, but not really the best mindset to have when trying to catch Pokemon."

"I ran out of Pokeballs," Bianca announced from behind Rosa, making her jump. "Those Lillipups are really hard to catch for some reason!"

"How did you get there?" Rosa questioned.

"Walking! Duh, silly!" Bianca retorted cheerfully.

"No, like, how did I not hear you coming up from behind me?"

"Dunno!" Bianca grinned.

"...Right," Cheren continued. "Anyways, how many Pokemon, including our starters, did you guys catch?"

"Two," Rosa and Bianca replied together.

"Really?" Cheren verified. "I got two, as well. So we-"

"Why didn't you say 'two, too?'" Bianca asked innocently.

Rosa tried not to laugh.

"Because redundancy is annoying," Cheren responded. "Regardless, it looks like we all tied."

"We should probably head to the Pokemon Center to heal our new Pokemon," Rosa suggested. "Besides, Bianca can buy more Pokeballs there."

"True," Cheren said. "We can explore Accumula Town, too. There might be some information around there."

"So let's go!" Bianca squealed, dashing past them and toward the gates of Accumula Town.

"Bianca, wait!" Rosa called after her.

"Of course she dashes off like that…" Cheren grumbled. "Alright, guess we gotta follow her." Cheren walked after her, and Rosa followed.

Accumula Town was bigger than Nuvema, that was for sure. There were multiple levels to the place; it looked like stone platforms were built onto the side of a hill until the entire hill turned from curved and green to flat and gray. Sure, the buildings were much more gray and the place was covered with more stone, but there were sparks of color everywhere. Planter boxes were arranged delicately on the side of some houses, while others had full gardens in their backyards. There was also a huge grassy courtyard with a fountain in the center. And around this courtyard stood a large crowd of people. Rosa wondered if there was some sort of event going on.

As if on cue, Bianca came up to Rosa and Cheren. "You're just in time, guys! This dude with a fancy cape is gonna make some kind of speech! There might be enough room near the front to get a better view, if we hurry."

"Sounds interesting," Rosa responded. "Cheren, wanna go check it out?"

Cheren glanced towards the courtyard, then at the Pokemon Center nestled in the nearby corner. Then he decided, "Sure, why not?"

The three went to the edge of the crowd, and after a bit of scooching around, Rosa saw him.

A man who looked like he might be in his thirties or even forties stood in front of the fountain, with a gray-clothed, orange-haired cohort of about seven people. His cape was unevenly divided between purple and gold, with strange eye markings on the side, and he had a sharp, square monocle that had a red lens. The thing that stood out most, however, was his green hair. _Bright_ green hair. Not necessarily neon, but it certainly wasn't the color that came to mind when you thought _green_. It could be better described as pastel. Something about this man seemed… off to Rosa. Some sort of intuition. Haru seemed to sense it too, and sat on her shoulder instead of her head.

The man stepped forward as the murmuring of the crowd dulled and he began his speech. "Greetings. My name is Ghetsis. I have come here today representing Team Plasma, an organization focusing on liberating Pokemon."

The crown began to murmur again. Rosa was able to pick up some voices in the crowd.

"Liberation?"

"What on earth is this old coot talking about?"

"Why would we need to liberate Pokemon?"

"This is just pointless gossip. Forget this."

After allowing the crowd to whisper amongst themselves for a moment, Ghetsis continued his speech. "Most of you standing here probably believe that humans and Pokemon stay together because they need each other to grow and evolve. But how can you be sure this is the case? The human race has been known for getting too big for their boots in the past. Could it just be that we humans simply _assume_ that this is the truth?"

As the crowd whispered more, Rosa was horrified at some of the things that she heard.

"Hey, this dude's got a point."

"Whatever this 'Team Plasma' is, it sounds like a neat organization."

"Perhaps this 'liberation' idea isn't all that bad."

"I don't know, guys. I mean, he hasn't given us concrete evidence quite yet. Maybe liberation is an over-exaggeration? There could be an alternative."

 _That person's probably the only voice of reason in here that_ actually _wants to speak up,_ Rosa thought somewhat bitterly.

Ghetsis must have heard that last comment, because he countered it by saying, "Need I remind you of the Brothers' War? Two brothers, divided by their greed, also split the legendary dragon Pokemon into two. This war ended up in the destruction of the Unova region, and it also cost so many Pokemon lives; more than the losses on the human side of things. And let's not forget the Kalos War, where Pokemon dropped like flies due to the lust of the king of Kalos. For years, now, Pokemon have been worked to the bone and even killed, but they're talked about as though they're our 'partners' helping us do our work. The truth is, Pokemon are treated as slaves who do our work _for_ us, and this is glorified by our belief that humans and Pokemon are equal. But this is not so. Now tell me, what _can_ we do to make Pokemon and humans equal in this world?"

This stunned all of Accumula Town into silence. Nobody spoke, not even Bianca, who was the chattiest person Rosa knew. Haru sat unamused on Rosa's shoulder.

In the silence, Rosa thought. _I have to admit, he's got a point, but…_

 _Instead of completely cutting off our relationship with Pokemon, why can't we work to_ repair _it? It would probably work out much better in the long run._

Finally, someone in the crowd spoke. "Liberation! That is how Pokemon and humans can be equal!"

"That's right!" Ghetsis exclaimed, with a smirk that made Rosa feel as though a bunch of spiders were slowly crawling down her spine. "We must liberate our Pokemon! Only then will humans and Pokemon truly be equals. I implore all of you to consider the relationship between humans and Pokemon, and the actions we should take alongside them. Thank you, everybody, for listening." With that, Ghetsis and his entourage picked up the flags that they had placed down and marched to the other exit of Accumula Town, which Rosa presumed led to Striaton City.

The citizens split off into little groups around the town and were talking in hushed whispers. Why they had to be so secretive, Rosa didn't know.

"Let's go to the Pokemon Center," Cheren suggested.

"You're not even going to _talk_ about what just happened?" Bianca asked.

"There's nothing to talk about. Just a group of people spreading around gossip and rumors to rouse the public for a dumb cause," Cheren pointed out. "Instead of releasing our Pokemon, we should bond closer together with them. Work alongside them instead of having them work for us."

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Rosa exclaimed.

Haru climbed back on Rosa's head and chittered. Rosa had no clue what Haru said, but he sounded angry. And since he was still sitting on her head like he normally did, he definitely wasn't mad at Rosa or her friends.

Suddenly, there was a voice behind them. "Ma'am, your Pokemon…"

Rosa, Cheren, and Bianca all turned around to see a young man addressing them. He was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt with black highlights, and a cap and a watch that had the same color scheme. He had khaki pants, as well as long, green hair, slightly brighter than Ghetsis's. He also had a Purrloin trailing behind him. The cat-like Pokemon looked up curiously.

"My Pokemon?" Rosa asked.

"Yes," the mysterious man replied. "It said something. It said…"

"Pokemon can't _talk_!" Bianca pointed out.

"Bianca, be polite!" Cheren scolded. He turned to address the mystery man again. "What were you saying, sir?"

"So you can't hear them speak, either," the man mused. "How unfortunate." Then he turned to Rosa. "May we battle? I'd like to hear the voices of your Pokemon again.

"Uh… yeah, sure, I just need to heal my Pokemon first," Rosa replied.

Haru, however, jumped down from his spot on Rosa's head and locked eyes with the Purrloin. She gave him a challenging glare in response.

"Your Oshawott doesn't seem to want to wait," the man translated. "But if he needs attention, I could heal him for you."

"Really?"

"Of course. It's only fair." The mysterious man pulled an Oran Berry from his pocket. "I always keep berries on me, just in case." He bent down and showed Haru the berry. Haru looked up at Rosa, as if asking for permission.

"Go ahead, Haru," Rosa prompted.

As Haru grabbed and bit into the berry, the man said, "Haru? Is that his name?"

"Yes it is," Rosa answered. "Does your Purrloin have a name?"

The green-haired man bent down and pet his Purrloin. "Her name's Sable," he explained.

"Sable? That's a nice name," Rosa complimented.

The Purrloin purred, and the man said, "She said 'Thank you.'"

Rosa smiled, and the man continued, "We should battle in the courtyard. There's more room there. Besides, we won't get in the way of pedestrians."

"Good idea," Rosa agreed.

The two trainers walked over to the courtyard and stood on either side of it. "One on one?" The man asked.

"Sure!" Rosa chirped in response.

The man nodded, and without a word, the Purrloin leapt onto the grass with a yowl, attracting the attention of the Accumula Town residents; and starting the battle.

As soon as Haru's feet touched the grass, Rosa exclaimed, "Haru, Tackle!" Her strategy for battle at this point was constantly using Tackle.

Haru dashed forward to strike the Purrloin, and, predictably, Sable dodged the attack. However, Haru was getting better at his reflexes, and quickly turned around and barreled into Sable.

Sable hit the ground, Haru on top of her, and "oohs" escaped from the crowd, which surprised Rosa; she hadn't realized how many people were watching. Some looked skeptical, still feeling swayed by Ghetsis's speech, while others were whooping and cheering. She heard some of the conversations that were taking place:

"Hey, who do you think is gonna win?"

"Dunno, man. The girl and her Oshawott seem tough, but the green haired dude seems to have more experience."

"Should they even _be_ fighting? I mean, I don't own any Pokemon, but if I did, I'd let them go after that speech from that Ghetsis guy."

"Ro, Ro, let's go!" That was Bianca.

Rosa brought her attention back to the battle. Sable was getting up. Rosa was about to yell out for Haru to use another Tackle when, without the mystery man giving any verbal command, Sable reared up and unsheathed her claws for a Scratch attack. "Haru, shield!"

Haru was one step ahead of her and was already holding his scalchop in front of him. When Sable's claws hit the scalchop, it made a sound like nails on a chalkboard. Rosa winced and covered her ears. The man had a similar reaction, though much calmer than Rosa's.

Haru shoved Sable away, and the Purrloin stumbled. "Now, Haru!" Rosa exclaimed.

Haru rammed into Sable, and the cat Pokemon fell right into the fountain. The Purrloin yowled in fury and disgust, and Rosa felt kinda bad, because she knew Purrloins hated water. But Sable shot out of the water and slammed into Haru, so she was probably fine.

Haru, on the other hand, was winded as he fell onto the ground. The mystery man seemed to want to call back Sable, but she was hissing and spitting with her fur on end, and didn't want to stop battling. The crowd was intrigued by the battle and were watching with bated breath.

Haru was getting low on health; he was visibly weaker as he struggled to his feet. Sable was also a lot weaker, though, so the fight was still even.

"Haru, try Tackling her again!"

Haru charged forward, and Sable used Scratch again at the same time. The two collided into each other, but Sable threw Haru off and stumbled back onto her paws. Haru got up, but Sable was struggling to even stand.

"Haru, _now_!"

Haru went to run into Sable again, but then the green-haired man shouted, " _That's enough, Sable!_ Don't push yourself."

Haru tripped himself in order to stop running, and fell face first into the grass. Sable turned around to acknowledge her trainer. The man didn't seem angry like his shout had implied. Instead, he looked concerned.

The Purrloin grumbled before limping over to her trainer. The strange man scooped her up and said, "I'm very sorry. I tried to see if she would come back, but this rascal is too stubborn for her own good, so I had to end the battle prematurely before she got too hurt."

"Oh, it's alright," Rosa responded. "Haru's getting out of his comfort zone, too."

Haru nodded, panting. It wasn't until now that Rosa realized that her heart was pounding in her ears. The adrenaline must have gotten to her.

The mystery man, still holding Sable with one arm, extended the other to Rosa. "That was a good battle. You may be a newer trainer, but I applaud your skill."

Rosa shook hands with him. "You're a pretty good trainer, yourself," she said with a smile.

The crowd cheered wildly, much to the excitement of Rosa. Then, she remembered something. "Hey," she told the man under all the cheering, "we never even introduced ourselves! My name's Rosa. What's yours?"

The man smiled. "My name is N."

"Nice to meet you, N," Rosa declared.

"It's nice to meet you, as well, Rosa." N glanced at his watch. His expression changed from happiness to horror. "Oh, no! I'm sorry, Rosa, I really need to go, or I'll be late for something. See you around?"

"See you!" Rosa called as N ran to the Pokemon Center. Then she turned and picked up Haru, who was sitting on the edge of the fountain. Haru climbed back onto her head with a tired chitter. The cheering of the crowd had died down, and everyone had split off into their little groups again, but this time, the chatter was more excitable.

Suddenly, Bianca ran up to Rosa and hugged her tightly. "I'm so proud of you, Ro! You won your first trainer battle against someone that wasn't me or Cheren!"

"Choking… me…" Rosa rasped as Bianca squeezed the air out of her lungs.

"Oh, sorry!" Bianca pulled away and Rosa was able to breathe again.

Cheren came up to Rosa, as well. "Nice job! I thought you were going to lose for a minute there."

"Wow, nice to know you have faith in me," Rosa groaned sarcastically.

The trio laughed, knowing that it was all in good fun, and started making their way to the Pokemon Center.

Then, there was more clapping behind them. "Bravo, Rosa!" a familiar voice exclaimed. "It's nice to see you're putting that Oshawott to good use."

Rosa, Cheren, and Bianca all turned around in unison to see a woman standing behind them. She was wearing a sky blue lab coat with a white undershirt and a green skirt. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a bun, and her red earrings added another pop of color to her outfit. Her kind, green eyes were approving, and her smile was genuine, as well as another trademark of hers. The trio knew who she was immediately.

"Professor Juniper!"

* * *

Current Team:

Haru- Oshawott (M)

Patrat (M)


End file.
